Cue-holder.



PATBNTED JUNE 26, 1906.

R. U. @L W. RUDDBLL.

CUB HOLDERI` y APPLICATION FILED nEo.1e,19os.

` FlE. 4.

'U-NTED STATES PATENT carica ROBERT U. RUDDLL, OF HARTFORDQOONNEOTIOUT, RUDDELL, OFNEWv YORK, N. Y;

CUE-HOLDR.

, T all whom it Wha/y concerns. l

greater importance 2 5 :York county, f United States,

B e itknown that we, ROBERT U. RUDDELL, of Hartford, Hartford county, Connecticut, and WILLIAM RUDDELL, of New York, New New York, citizens of the have invented a certain new and useful Cue-Holder, of which the following isa specification. i 4 4 The principal object of this invention is to maintain the straightness of a perfect cue, for use inthe games of billiards, pool, &c';

A secondaryv object ofthe invention is to straighten cues'which have become crooked or warped through neglect or otherwise.

Itis well known that in such games of skill as billiards, pool, &c., it is impossible for the player to make a ygood score, no matter how skilful he may be, unles sboth the balls and the cues are in proper condition, and if the balls are not exactly round and the cue perfectly straight the ballwhen struck will not traverse the course calculated by the player. Straightness of the cue is,if possible, of even than the roundness of the ball, because an imperfect ball may follow `the -path desired if struck by a perfect cue, y whereas a perfect ball struck by a crooked cue is not struck in the manner--that is to say, at the angle-intended by the player and is certain to deviate from the path calcul lated by theplayer for a straight cue. Many attempts have been made tomaintain the cip al featur i capable of straightness of cues, particularly high-grade cues used by expert billiard and pool players;

but so far as we are aware these attempts up to the present time have been unsuccessful. The principal reason for this,vwe believe, is that in previous attempts to maintain the straightness of such cues no means has been employed for holding the cues tensioned in the direction of their length, 4and the prine'of this-invention is acue-holder holding a c ue tensioned in the direction of its longitudinal axis and preferably in such a manner as to permit the cue to be readilyfa'stened in place Without in any way marring the cue itse f. The preferred means employed byus for jkeeping a perfect cue straight and also for 5o` .nal `straightness is a cue-holder having a restoring a crooked lor warpe cue to its origisplit or expansible chuck adapted to receive one end ofthecue, preferably the tip thereof,

Specification `of Letters Patent, Application filed December 16,1903. Serial No. 185.337.

wise.

l leasing a cue, preferably at its .tip end, the

and to be actuated by the cuel itself to the cue to hold the same tensioned in the direction `of its longitudinal axis until the -cue is to be used, when the chuck will be released by the cue as soon as a slight withdrawing pull is exerted on thecue and will be expanded-to thelimit of its movement by an actuator independent of the power exerted Patented June 26d, 1 906. K

AND WILLLAM r by the layer in withdrawingthe cue from i.

the hol er. v y

In the drawings accompanying this speciiication andy forming part of the present application, Figure lis an held `in place the parts in their normal 'positions vwith thev chuck expanded. Fig. 3 is a substantially central longitudinal section ofy the cue-holder, showing the cue .clamped therein with the chuck closed. Fig. 4 is a elevation of a cue by our cue-tensioning holder. f Fig. 42 is a full-sized side elevation of our cuevholder, showing side elevation of the chuck for holding the,

cue. Fi 5 is a central longitudinal section ofachuc -support in which the chuck works. Similar characters designate like parts in `all the fi ures of the drawings.

` Accor ing to our invention the cue-holder may be of any suitable type and construction capable of putting the cue under tension in l the direction of its longitudinal axis and holding the cue securelyin place without injuring it. The preferred tmo'de lof putting the cue under tension is to suspend the cue from its tip end,so that a tensioning or stretching force will be exerted at all points in the length of theA cue, and particularly at` all tip or reducedend ofthe cue points at the from a point at or near the opposite end, this forcebeing the weight nf the heavy 4butt-,end

of the cue. We have found that the weight of such butt-end ofthe cue is sufficient when the cue is suspended from its tip in the-'direction of gravitaticn ness of a perfect cue and also suflicient to restore the straightness of .one that has become crooked or Warpedjasa result of uneven ,exposure to different temperatures by sup-` porting it at an angle to the perpendicular with its weight unevenly distributed or otherthe cue in the direction ative for tensioning body suitable means forl engaging and reto maintain the straightr1`he cue-holder willnot ,onlyl be opery I split or expansible cue engaging or clamping means being controlled by the insertion of the cue in the holder 'and the release of the cue from the clamping means or chuck being accomplished partly by the Withdrawal of the cue and partly by an actuator forming a part of the cue-holder. In the preferred construction the cue-holder will not only engage the tip end of the cue, but will also be of su'Hicient length to receive the ivory tip and hold the cue by engagement with the wood portion of the tip, to which the ivory tip is secured, thisbeing desirable because of the greater' strength of the wood portion of the cue.

It will be evident that any device of this kind to be practical should be so constructed that the cue may be readily inserted in place and removed without any unnecessary movement of operating parts, and in our preferred construction shown herein the cue is inserted in place and clamped by a single movement and unclamped and withdrawn by another movement, thus reducing to a minimum the work necessary to be done by the player or the attendant in getting a cue from a holder or putting it back again.

Our improved cue-holder, considered with respect to the details of its construction, consists of only three main parts, one of which is the device which receives the 4eue and engages or releases the same and is preferably a chuck, another of which is a chuck-support, preferably having a bore in which the chuck works, and the third of which is an actuator, preferably a releasingspring, by means of which the chuck may be released from the cue by an independent source of power the moment a releasing pull is exerted on the cue. The chuck-support may be of any suitable construction, but is preferably a tubular cylindrical member, such as 2, having an end wall 3 bored at 4 to permit the stem of the chuck to slide therein and constituting at its inner side a stop-wall for one end of the releasing-spring. This support is preferably threaded at its upper end, as indicated at 5, to permit it to be screwed into aboard, such as 6, whichmay be the upper board or shelf of a cue-racl In inserting the tubular support 2 in place care should be taken to have its longitudinal axis exactly perpendicular-that is to say, in the direction of gravitation.` At its lower open end this tubular support 2 may have suitable faces for coacting with the chuck to close the chuck-sections when the chuck is forced into the tubular support 2. Preferably the inner wall of this tubular support is beveled at 7 to form a conical wall converging toward the upper end of the support for the purpose of closing the chuck ljaws or sections, and the chuck-jaws themselves may also have cam-faces adapted to coact with the wall 7 to assure the proper closing and opening of the chuck when the chuck enters or emerges from the support 2.

Any suitable means may be provided for screwing the tubular support 2 into the board 6, said support preferably having an opening 8, into which a pin or rod may be inserted for turning the tubular member.

The cue-engaging means preferably consists in this case of a split or expansible chuck (designated in a general way by c) and preferably having a solid upper end or stein 1() and a bored or tubular lower end of larger diameter properly slotted in intersecting planes to form arms terminating in chuck-jaws, such as l1. The support 2 will usually be made of iron or steel, and the chuck c, which is intended to slide therein, will be of brass or some similar metal, preferably bronze, in order that when the tubular portion of the chuck is split spring-arms, such as 12, will be formed, which will be sui'liciently resilient to assure the automatic spreading of the chuckjaws 11 and the consequent release of the cue or .tip when the chuck 1s drawn or forced ou tward from the support 2. Four such springarms are formed, in this case bymilling two longitudinal slots in the chuck at right angles to each other, only one of such slots being shown in full lines. The chuck-jaws l1 are of considerable thickness in order that they may hold the cue properly but the arms proper, which are indicated at 12, are relatively thin in order to assure suilici ent resilience. Moreover, the chuck-jaws are preferably of considerably greater diameter, even when closed, than the section of the chuck from which the spring-arms 12 are formed, as will be evident from Figs. 3 and f1, and the outer surface of each chuck-jm Y preferably shaped, as indicated at 13, to form a cam-face of the proper contour for permitting the chuck to be closed or spread, according as it is moved inward or outward in the tubular support 2. The cam-faces 7 and 13 serve when the cue is in place as stop-faces to limit the inward movement of the chuck, and the movement of said chuck in the other direction may be limited by a stop-pin, such. as 14T, carried by the stem 10 of the chuck, which pin strikes against the outer end of the head 3 of the tubular support when the parts are in their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 2.

The stem portion and the spring-armed portion of the chuck are of different diameters and form between them a stop-wall 15, against which the lower end of the actuator or releasing-spring 16 rests. This spring is preferably a helical spring encircling the stem 10 and confined between the stop-wall 15 and the inner wall of the head 3 and normally tends to force the chuck outward. In Fig. 3

it is shown under compression.

The inner walls of the chuck-jaws and the spring-arms 12, of which they constitute extensions, are preferably disposed at such angles to each other as to clear the cue quickly on the initial movement of withdrawal, while the wedging action between the-cam-faces 7.-

' when the cue'is in place,

.trolled directly the wholev inner face j chuck-j aw to clamp the cue or cue-tip as shown in Fig. 3. In the normal position ythereof the inner walls of thespring-arms 12 are parallel and the inner walls of the chuck-jaws depart from parallelism and diverge from* eachy other about three degrees. The arms f 12 are of such length that the vjaws dok not make conpermitting practically of each tact with any portion of the ivory tip of .thef

cue C, but only engagethe wood portion thereof, and owing to the long holding-surface of the jaws there is no danger of marring even the wood tip of the cue.

. The working stroke of the chuck lis conby the cue itself, and hence in this movement thereof the chuck. is cue-actuated. When the cue is to be placed in the holder, it .is inserted inthe chuck and the leather tip 1 comes incontact with the inner end wall ,21 before the chuck-jaws begin to close onto the cue. The upwardthrust on v the cue serves to force the chuck upward and diately become effective is no dangerJ of marring or scratc ing the cue A cushioning l device of suitable material,

i To lprevent any such injury, we prefer to pro- `vide a rubber cushion, l6'0 lthis upward Acam-face 7 coacting with the. cam-faces 13 leather'tip mayalso be injured by chemical reaction if held for long periods of time in put .the spring 16 under compression, and movement continues until the forces thel chuck-'aws into clam ing engagement with the wood.portion o the cue-tip and also clamps the chuck in place by a wedging action between the cam-faces sufiicient to prevent the release of the `chuck by the spring or by the combined force of the spring and of the weight of the cue. "When vthe cue is yto be removed andthe. chuck released, a slight pull on the cueis sufficient to overcome 16 will immee to orce the chuck practically instantaneously to the position shown in Fig". 2, and thus quickly release the lchuck-jaws'from the tip before there is any longitudinal movement of the cue relative to the chuck.v Thus in withdrawin also, there and 13, whereupon the sprin contact with the wall of the bronze chuck.

such as 22, of sufficient size to maintain its position at the end of the bore in the chuck. k

. What we claim is 1'. A cue-tensionlng holder provided with means for suspending the holder from a sup- ,movable in the direction of its vided with expans'ible means for clamping a cue, said means being operated by the insertion of the cue into the chuck, and means for normally opening said chuck. 2. A cue-tensioning holder provided 'with means for suspending the holder and embodying a chuck which is provided with`excue and is longitudinal axis relatively to said holder, said holder also embodying vfixed means for supporting said chuck and for closing the same on the movepansible means for clamping a ment of said chuck in the direction of its longitudinal axis.

3. A cue-tensioning holder rovided with means for suspending the ho der and eme bodying a chuck which is provided with ex-l ansible means for 'clamping a cue and is movable in the direction of its longitudinal axis relatively to said holder, said holder also embodying fixed means for supporting said port and embodying a chuck which is pro-` chuck and for closing the same on the movement of said chuck gitudinal axis, and means yfor normally opening said chuck.

4. A cue-tensioning holder rovided with means for suspending the ho der and embodying a chuck which is provided with expansible means for-VV` clamping a cue and is movable in the direction of its longitudinal axis relatively to said holder, said chuck having gripping-walls which `are clear of the cue during all relative longitudinal 4movement of said parts in either direction.

5. A cue-tensioning holder providedwith means forv suspending the holder and embodying vav chuck lwhich is provided withexansible means for gripping the cue at a oint near the tip thereofand is movable in t e direction of its longitudinal axis relatively to said support, said chuck having grippingwalls which are clear of the cue during all relativelongitudinal movement of said parts in either direction.

6. A cue holding 'and releasing device provided with means for suspending the device and embodying a chuck-support, an actuameans for clamping acue, saidmeans including walls which form with the coacting walls of the chuck-support an angle less thanthe wedging-angle, -said means having an initial cue-releasing and opening movement controlled bythe withdrawal ofthe cue and also `having a main opening movement controlled by said actuator.

7. A cue holding and releasing device proin the direction of its lon-- IIO tor, and a chuck provided with expansible rzo videdA with means for suspending the device and embodying a chuck-support, an actuator, and a sprin '-armed chuck for clamping a cue, said chuck aving walls which form with the coacting walls of the chuck-support an angle less than the wedging-angle, said means having an initial cue-releasing and opening movement controlled by the Withdrawal of the eue and also having a main opening movement controlled by said actuator.

8. A cue holding and releasing vided with means for suspending the device and yembodying a chuck-support, a releasingspring, and a chuck provided with expansible means for clamping a cue, said means including Walls which form With the coacting Walls of the chuck-support an angle less than the v'vedging-angle, said means having an initial cue-releasing and opening movement condevice protrolled by the Withdrawal of the cue and also and embodying a vchuck-support, a

having a main opening movement controlled by said releasing-spring.

9. A cue holding and releasing device provided With means for suspending the device and embodying a chuck-support, an actuator, and a chuck provided with means for clamping and releasing a cue, said means including gripping-Walls Which are clear of the cue during all relative longitudinal movement of said parts in either direction, the clamping movement of said means being controlled by the insertion of the cue in the chuck, the initial portion of the cue-releasing and opening movement being controlled by the Withdrawal of the cue and the main op ening movement being controlled by said actuator.

10. A cue holding and releasing device provided With means for suspending the device releasingspring, and-a chuck provided with means for clamping and releasing a cue, said means including gripping-Walls Which are clear of the cue during all relative longitudinal movement of said parts in either direction, the

'clamping movement of said means being controlled by the insertion of the cue in the chuck and controlling the tensioning of said spring, the initial portion of the cue-releasing and opening movement being controlled by the Withdrawal of the cue and the main opening movement being controlled by said spring.

11. A cue holding and releasing device provided With means for suspending the device and embodying a bored chuck-support, a chuck-releasing actuator, and a chuck mounted to Work in the bore of said support and provided with expansible means for clamping and releasing a cue said means -including gripping-Walls which are clear of the cue during. all relative of a cue and by the Walls of said bore and also having a return stroke and a cue-releasing movement the initial portion of which is controlled `by the withdrawal of the cue and the remainder of Which is controlled by said actuator.

12. A cue holding and releasing 4device pro- 'said/i9 vided with means for suspending the device and embodying a tubular chuck-support, a chuck-releasing spring within said tubular support, and an expansible cue-engaging chuck mounted in said support and formed with cam-faces coacting with the inner wall of said support and having a working stroke and a closing movement controlled conjointly by the insertion of a cue and the inner Wall of said support and also having a return stroke and a cue-releasing movement the initial portion of each of which is controlled by the'initial movement of withdrawal of the cue and the remainder of which is controlled by said spring, said chuck also having gripping-Walls which are clear of the cue during all relative longitudinal movement of said parts in either direction.

13. A cue-tensioning holder provided with means for suspending the holder and embodying a chuck provided with expansible means for clamping a cue and is movable in the direction of its longitudinal axis relatively to said holder, said chuck having closing and. opening movements controlled respectively by the insertion and removal of the cue and having gripping-walls which are clear o: the cue during all relative longitudinal movement of said parts in either direction, and a cushioning device in said chuck for receiving and cushioning the blow of the leather tip of the cue.

14. A cue-tensioning holder provided with means for suspending the holder and embodying a chuck-support and an expansible chuck having coacting faces one of which is tapering and one of which is convex in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the chuck.

15. A cue-tensioning holder provided with means for suspending the holder and embodying a chuck-support and an expansible chuck having coacting faces one of which is tapering and one of W `ch is convex in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the chuck, the point at which such faces make contact being substantially at the longitudinal center of the chuck-j aWs.

16. A cue-tensioning holder provided with means for suspending the holder and embodying a chuck-support and an expansible chuck having coacting chuck-closing faces said chuck having rigid chuck-jaws movably connected with the body of the chuck to maintain their gripping-Walls in parallelism With the chuck-axis when in engagement with the cue for cues of different diameters.

17. A cue-tensioning holder provided Wi th means for suspending the holde'i` and embodying a chuck-support and an expansible chuck having coacting chuck-closing faces said chuck having rigid chuck-jaws secured to spring-arms and movable to maintain their gripping-Walls in parallelism With the IOO IIO

ohnck=axis `when in engagement with the cue for cues of diierent diameters.

18. A cue-tensioning holder provided With means for suspending the holder and embodying a chuck-supportand an expansible chuck having coacting faces one of which is tapering and one, of Which is convex in the direction of the longitudinal axis'of the chuck, said chuck having rigid chuck-jaws movably connected With the body of the chuck to maintain their gripping-Walls in parallelism with the chuck-axis When in engagement With the cue for cues of different diameters.

Signed at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, this 7th day i5 of December, 1903.

' ROBERT U. RUDDELL. Witnesses:

EDWARD A. MOYER, GEORGE D. HAYDEN.

Signed at New York, in the county and State of New York, this 124th day of Decem- 

